Operation:PROMETHEUS
by Spartan023
Summary: The Alpha Company Spartans were sent on a suicidal mission to destroy a Covenant shipyard. This is their story... Rating subject to change Please R
1. Arrival

Shane ran across the open battlefield, plasma bolts whizzing past him, sweat dripping down his battered face. Robert ran along side him at remarkable speeds. This was what they had been trained for. This was what they lived for.

Just five days ago, Shane, Robert, Jane and 297 other Spartan III's were dropped on the volcanic asteroid K7-49 to disable a Covenant shipyard. This operation, this Operation:PROMETHEUS, would save countless lives. Right now, Shane wondered if it was worth all he and his team had been through. He knew that destroying this shipyard would not stop the Covenant juggernaut. He knew it wouldn't even slow it down...

As soon as the Spartan III's had hit the ground they had already lost good men. The impact had crushed spines and shattered bones. Shane couldn't grieve for long though. They had a job to do. It was July 27, 2537 and, ever since their training had begun on December 27, 2531, the Spartans had been preparing for an operation like this. Shane knew it was a suicidal mission but, then again, so were all of their missions. This mission involved being in the middle of the most heavily-guarded area on the asteroid and the Spartans knew many of them would die. But they were ready for death at any time. It had been knocking on their door since their training began. They knew this mission would open the door.


	2. Preparation

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Halo series except the Spartan III's I make up.**

Shane ordered the other Spartans to set up base around their HEV's. He then sent Spartan-A054, Jake, to scout a perimeter. Shane, Robert and Jane then proceeded to bury their dead comrades. It was such a waste for them to die from a simple landing. He knew that they would have wanted to fall in battle and take some Covenant scum with them.

A few hours later, the base was ready and Jake returned. Shane called him over.

"Sir! Covenant bastards on patrol about a mile west. Looks like Jackals with carbines and two Elites in red armour overseeing them. Up high, there were more Jackals with beam rifles on a rooftop. The building was hastily-constructed but, from what I saw, it seems sturdy."

" How many Jackals patrolling?"

" Not many. We are still a few miles away from the plasma reactors so defenses are pretty light.

" Very good. Get your gear together."

Alpha Company had 10 of the best snipers the UNSC had ever produced. Aside from Linda, Shane would say they were the best ever.

"Jake, Zack, Max, Ben, Sarah, Gemma, Erin, Daniel, Darren and Claire. You 10 are to find a high position around the perimeter Jake set up and stay there until I say otherwise. Clear? Good. Do not disable your SPI suits unless absolutely necessary. Now move out."

Shane walked around the make-shift base. Everyone was either taking weapons apart, cleaning them and putting them together again or making sure their SPI armour was in working order. For tomorrows assault, they were going to need everything to be perfect.

**Authors Note: Sorry these 2 chapters have been so short but I'm building up to something.**


	3. Movement in the Night

**Disclaimer:I own nothing of the Halo series besides the Spartans I make up.**

Night was when the young Spartans were at their best. They had excellent night-vision due to their augmentations and their SPI suits of armour kept them practically invisible with its chameleon-like abilities. Shane had decided that their camp was to be moved closer to their targets. Everything was left behind, hidden in the foliage where it would only be seen if it was really being looked for. Shane had called back his snipers and the company had moved out. With their camouflage, the Spartans could neither be seen nor heard. The darkness was their cover, their friend. There was a sickening crack to his right and a Jackal dropped to the floor, it's neck broken. Nobody was allowed to use their weapons and any patrols were to be taken out quickly and stealthily then hidden. Shane clicked his private COM on.

"Good work. Now keep moving." He whispered.

Everyone's acknowledgement light flickered green. There was another Jackal up ahead. He slowly crept up on it and twisted it's head, instantly killing it with no noise at all. They had met with little resistance so far and any Covenant they had come across were quickly taken care of. Shane told everyone to stop. He had seen the building Jake had spoken about. Except it wasn't really a building. It looked more like a tower. It looked pretty hastily built and there were about 3 Jackals on top of it with beam rifles, just like Jake said.

" Zack, Max, Ben! Take them out. Silently."

Shane didn't even hear their rifles go off. Just saw two Jackals collapse, their heads blown off. The third, however, fell over the side. And landed on the two Elites. They were confused at first, wondering why this clumsy idiot had fallen on them. Then they saw the blown-away face. The quickly drew their plasma rifles - and toppled over. Shane turned around to see Daniel and Erin, their snipers smoking and their invisibility disabled by the shots. It had all taken about 3 seconds but Daniel and Erin had been prepared. Shane smiled under his visor then kept moving. The tower would make an excellent base. The Covenant still thought this place was under their control so they wouldn't even come here tonight. He set Jake, Sarah, Gemma, Darren and Claire on the tower on a continuous cycle throughout the night and the base was set around it. Portable automated turrets were positioned at strategic points around the camp and the rest of the Spartans were allowed to rest. Shane, however, couldn't sleep. He wandered around the camp and saw that the other Spartans were all awake too. Robert was sitting next to Jane and they were talking quietly. Other Spartans were polishing their weapons again but most were just sitting staring at the fiery night sky, streaked with other asteroids. It really was a beautiful sight. Tomorrow, this sky would be filled with flying lead and white-hot plasma. Shane was excited but at the same time felt a wierdly ominous presence hanging over him. It told him his operation was not going to end well for him or his team...


	4. First Assault

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Halo (apart from the Master Chief action figure in my bedroom)**

Shane was in the bushes. His breathing was slow, his MA5K Carbine resting in his hands. 296 Spartans surrounded him, waiting for the order to strike. There was a thick tension in the air. He knew his Spartans could feel it too but they had all been trained to ignore it, to only move when _they_ felt it was the right time. They had been in position for almost an hour now, his snipers almost 2, and everyone was anxious to kick some Covenant ass. Their target was the 7 reactors right in front of them. It was encircled by Elites, Grunts and some kind of big gorilla that Shane had never seen before. Elites and Grunts he could handle but he had no idea what the other thing was capable of...He was startled out of his thoughts by Jake on his private COM.

"Shane, what are those things?"

"I don't know Jake. But there is" He did a quick count in his head "6 of them."

Shane switched to his main COM.

"Jake, Darren, Gemma, Erin, Daniel and Claire.Take out those brutish things with head shots on my mark. I don't know what they are or what they are capable of, and I don't wanna know. Sarah, Zack, Max and Ben, theres 5 Jackals on those levitating platforms over there. Do it silently."

Shane saw them collapse all at once. However so did a Brute (this was the name Shane had so aptly decided on for them)

"Shit! That thing saw your shots! Fire now!"

6 shots rang out in quick succession. 5 Brutes dropped to their knees but the armour just fell off one of them.

"Dammit!" Gemma said on COM.

The Spartans slowly edged forward. Light shimmered across Shane's armour. Shane fired a few shots at a nearby Grunt, which caused his camouflage to fail for a few seconds. However, a few seconds was all the un-armoured Brute needed to see him. It charged forward, smashing unlucky Grunts who happened to be running by, out of its way. Shane, busy concentrating on shooting an Elite, turned around too late and the Brute slammed into him. Dazed and confused, Shane was thrown back 5 feet and the Brute leaped on him. It's strength overpowered Shane as he struggled against it. Gemma, seeing her second chance to take her failed kill down, dropped from her sniping perch and smashed it in the head with the butt of her rifle. The beast fell off Shane and Gemma pulled out her handgun and blasted 2 shot into its head. Shane stood up and thanked Gemma, who climbed back up into her previous position. He looked around and, while many of the Grunts were dead, many were still alive. No Elite had been taken down yet due to its personal shield. Darren was engaged in hand-to-hand combat with one in gold armour. He seemed to be losing. Shane ran forward, scooping a dead Grunt's plasma pistol as he knew a full clip of his carbine wouldn't be able to break through such a high-ranking Elite's shield. Overloading the pistol, he fired the glob of green energy into the Elite's back, disabling it's shield. In one swift movement, Shane dropped the over-heating weapon, drew his MA5K and fired on full automatic. Each bullet ripped through the Elite causing purple blood to fly out. Before the Elite even hit the ground, Shane was on top of it and emptied the remainder of the clip into it. There was a loud cry behind him. He turned around and saw a red Elite charging at him, energy blade held high. Shane dived out the way as it swung. He didn't have enough time to reload as the Elite spun round ready to kill. Darren was on the ground from his previous fight. He pulled out his MA5K and fired. The bullets tore through the Elites shield and into the Elite, killing it.

"Just returning the favour" He grinned.

Shane stood up, surveying the battle. In the space of 3 minutes the battle had been won. Or so he thought. An almighty roar came from behind, then the sound of a girl in pain. Claire smashed into the wall beside Shane and Darren. Her bio-signs were flat. Shane looked for her killer. A pair of Hunters were coming towards him, their fuel rod cannons glowing green. Shane dived out of the way of its massive shield. The shield must have been what killed Claire. One swipe could crush bones and organs. The other Hunter slammed its shield down and Shane managed to roll behind it. He pulled out his M6G Magnum and blasted 2 shots into its exposed back. The giant legion of worms collapsed onto the ground with a thud. One down, one to go. He reloaded and faced the other Hunter. With the death of its bond-brother, the Hunter was extremely enraged. Shane tried to get behind it but it just swivelled around to try and crush him again. Suddenly a shot rang out. The Hunter joined its brother on the ground, a sniper bullet instantly killing it. Gemma had again saved him. He made a promise to thank her later. He switched to his main COM channel.

"OK team good work. Now lets blow these reactors and get outta here."

Shane pulled out 2 Lotus Anti-tank mines and set them on the first reactor. Six other Spartans did the same. As they were about to detonate them, 5 Phantom dropships flew overhead and Jackals began to drop down from them. The first response to the Spartan attack. The Jackals, not seeing the mines, took cover behind the heavily armoured reactors. Lotus mines could get through that armour but not the Spartans MA5K bullets. Shane started counting down. If they couldnt kill the Jackals with bullets, they were just going to blow them up with the reactors.

"3...2...1...Detonate!"

7 explosions, all in quick succession, blew the Jackals and the reactors to smithereens.

"OK let's pull back and set up camp again."

Green acknowledgement lights. Except Claire's. Shane picked up her body. Her bones had been completely shattered. This was the first time Shane had ever lost a team-mate and he really felt the blow...


End file.
